摘要
Shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa) tree is one of the most important tree species in Africa owing to its high potential in reduction of poverty and hunger in rural areas and enhancing environmental sustainability. All parts of shea tree are important from bark to wood and from leaves to fruits. Despite all the uses and many more, shea is amongst the endangered species of trees because of over-utilization, low regeneration abilities and lack of efficient propagation methods. Consequently, this research seeks to determine the most efficient methods for propagating V. paradoxa. The experiment consists of three stages. In the first stage, complete fruits were planted without depulping;in the second experiment, the seeds were exposed to single seed treatments that were applied to the seeds and in the third experiment, the seeds were exposed to double seed treatments. It was observed that intact fruits did not germinate while the results showed the single seeds treatment to significantly have affected germination performance. De-shelled seeds germinated faster (43 days) than all other treatments but 48 hours soaking produced the highest germination percentage (91.7%). An even better result was recorded with double seeds treatments in which de-shelled plus 24 hours soaked seed germinated faster (39.3 days) than other treatments while sandpapered plus 24 hours soaked seeds had the best germination percentage (75%). Therefore, scarification using sandpaper plus soaking for 24 hours was identified as the best treatment for breaking seed dormancy in V. paradoxa.
Shea butter (Vitellaria paradoxa) tree is one of the most important tree species in Africa owing to its high potential in reduction of poverty and hunger in rural areas and enhancing environmental sustainability. All parts of shea tree are important from bark to wood and from leaves to fruits. Despite all the uses and many more, shea is amongst the endangered species of trees because of over-utilization, low regeneration abilities and lack of efficient propagation methods. Consequently, this research seeks to determine the most efficient methods for propagating V. paradoxa. The experiment consists of three stages. In the first stage, complete fruits were planted without depulping;in the second experiment, the seeds were exposed to single seed treatments that were applied to the seeds and in the third experiment, the seeds were exposed to double seed treatments. It was observed that intact fruits did not germinate while the results showed the single seeds treatment to significantly have affected germination performance. De-shelled seeds germinated faster (43 days) than all other treatments but 48 hours soaking produced the highest germination percentage (91.7%). An even better result was recorded with double seeds treatments in which de-shelled plus 24 hours soaked seed germinated faster (39.3 days) than other treatments while sandpapered plus 24 hours soaked seeds had the best germination percentage (75%). Therefore, scarification using sandpaper plus soaking for 24 hours was identified as the best treatment for breaking seed dormancy in V. paradoxa.
